TFAN, Part 17
Title: The Fight About Nothing
Author: aquariuslover
Pairing: KyuWook
Rating: R
Genre: Friendship, Love
Beta: unicornsinger
Summary: This is a completely fictional tale about the thin line between love and friendship, and how easily that line can become blurred.
TFAN Chapters
“Is everybody okay? Did somebody die?” Zhou Mi asked, full of dread and worry, as he walked into the living room, to find Eunhyuk and Ryeowook embracing on the couch, both sobbing.
“Please,” Yesung, who was beside him, said with obvious disdain. “They cry when it rains.”
“Oh,” Zhou Mi answered as the two men on the couch broke from their embrace and turned their attention toward Zhou Mi and Yesung.
“Once, we were on our show ‘Explore the Human Body’ - which I was fantastic in, by the way. We had to collect tears, and those two cry-babies provided the samples. Although come to think of it, Ryeowook didn’t cry as much as he should have. If I were Shindong, I would still be offended,” Yesung explained to Zhou Mi, ignoring the pair of glaring eyes aimed at him.
Ryeowook stood up quickly and proclaimed, “I cried.”
“You didn’t cry when Shindong said he was leaving; you only cried when the maknae started crying,” Yesung pointed out with a smirk. “Like I said, you’re lucky Shindong is so forgiving.”
“Oh, I remember this now. Kyuhyun was so convincing. He should really consider acting,” Zhou Mi replied, still standing beside Yesung as he watched Eunhyuk and Ryeowook wipe away their tears.
“Umm…he wasn’t faking. I kinda forgot to tell him it was a hidden camera,” Yesung admitted guiltily.
“You didn’t forget anything,” Eunhyuk accused, giving the other man a severe look.
“Well, how was I supposed to tell him when he was freaking attached to Ryeowook’s hip all the time? When he wasn’t with Ryeowook, he was with you. There isn’t any way I could have told him without the two of you finding out,” Yesung reminded them.
“You should have found a way. He had just got out of the hospital,” Ryeowook told him, his eyes narrowing at the memory.
“Yeah, that was just cruel,” Eunhyuk agreed with Ryeowook.
“Nobody else told him either!” Yesung said defending himself.
“Because you told them you would!” Eunhyuk pointed out to him as he walked past him to the kitchen, with Ryeowook following close behind.
Yesung gave them both annoyed looks as they left and turned back to Zhou Mi and explained, “It made for great television.”
***************************
“You gained half a kilogram. I’m so happy!” Sungmin announced as he bounced around the kitchen pulling out his phone. “It’s not too early to call your mom, is it?”
“She has a class now. She was up before you even thought about getting out of bed. You’re so retarded,” Kyuhyun said, shaking his head at the other man as he took a seat at the kitchen table.
“Excuse me, but I am going to glory in my success,” Sungmin told the younger man, refusing to be anything but happy.
“What success?” Eunhyuk asked as he walked into the room with Ryeowook. It was obvious from their red eyes that they had both been crying.
“Skinny Bones there has gained half a kilogram!” Sungmin said proudly. “What are you two crying about now?” Sungmin questioned, after giving Ryeowook and Eunhyuk a good looking over.
“I am crying because I am so happy that Ryeowook has decided to feed us again. No offense, but it just hasn’t been the same,” Eunhyuk said, taking a seat next to Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun’s concerned eyes were on Ryeowook, who just smiled at him.
“You ungrateful monkey-faced - ” Sungmin started.
“Half a kilogram; that’s great. The doctor will be thrilled, not to mention your mother,” Ryeowook said, distracting Sungmin as he stepped around him to the front of the stove to start making the pancakes. Kyuhyun moved to get up and follow Ryeowook, so he could interrogate him, but Eunhyuk subtly grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back down to his seat.
“And all thanks to me,” Sungmin said, basking in his accomplishment and forgetting Eunhyuk’s insult, just as Ryeowook had planned. Sungmin was all smiles as he placed the milk, syrup, and butter on the table.
“You mean thanks to my mother,” Kyuhyun said, emphasizing the word mother as he settled back down in his chair. “She fed me all day yesterday.”
“I am going to take some credit, too, since you ate more of my dinner than I did last night,” Ryeowook said without turning away from the stove. “Just think how much you could have gained if you hadn’t gotten sick?”
“It’s a cumulative effect of many days work,” Sungmin insisted. He stopped suddenly and turned to Kyuhyun. “You were sick?”
“Yes, I was, and you wouldn’t let me get any sleep,” Kyuhyun told Sungmin with eyes full of blame.
“So it’s your fault he ended up in bed with me, then?” Yesung said as he walked into the room with Zhou Mi; they took the seats opposite Eunhyuk and Kyuhyun.
“Believe me, I won’t be doing it again without a gas mask,” Kyuhyun told Yesung as he held his nose.
“I would apologize, but since you snuck in my bed without my permission, I won’t.”
“It was awful. I was sound asleep, and the smell woke me. I mean, the smell woke me? Do you know how foul something has to smell…for the smell to wake you up?” Kyuhyun embellished for everybody, rubbing his nose at the awful memory.
“It was bad,” Zhou Mi couldn’t help but agree. “What did you eat last night?”
“I ate at that new Mexican restaurant down the street. It was actually really good,” Yesung explained as he poured him a glass of milk that Sungmin had set on the table earlier.
“It was like things had crawled up you and died,” Kyuhyun told him, making a mental note that he was never ever going to eat at that restaurant.
“They were actually cheese enchiladas, and they were divine,” Yesung said, smiling at the memory of the good food. “If they keep you out of my room, then I will have more today.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Kyuhyun told him with his usual sneer.
“That’s what you always say, but it seems like I am always waking up with a certain tall, gawky maknae in my room. I thought it was Ryeowook and his misplaced nurturing that kept you coming back, but Ryeowook is gone, and you still invade my territory. It must have been me all along. I’m used to having fans, but, Kyuhyun, this is a little much,” Yesung said, smiling at the dumbfounded younger man.
“Oh, you guessed it. You are my hero. Someday, when I am old like you, I hope I can be half as self-involved,” Kyuhyun shot back at him.
“Old!” Yesung said outraged as he stood up.
“Oh, sit your butt back down,” Sungmin said as he came to the table, passing out rice. Then, he took a seat next to Yesung.
“Old,” Yesung repeated, sitting back down.
“Well, definitely older,” Kyuhyun said evilly as he ate a spoonful of rice.
“I look younger than you,” Yesung told him hotly.
“Keep telling yourself that,” Kyuhyun told him, just smiling back at him annoyingly.
“How I have missed breakfast with you two,” Ryeowook said, laughing as he placed the pancakes on the table. The pancakes disappeared from the platter quickly, as all the boys grabbed a plate full.
“Well, you chose to live with the boring people,” Kyuhyun told Ryeowook, looking bothered as Ryeowook sat at the end of the table far away from him.
“True, not everybody can be as entertaining as we are,” Yesung told Ryeowook with a mouth full of food.
“They probably want you to move back with us anyways. They complain all the time about how rude you are,” Kyuhyun told Ryeowook as he soaked his pancakes in syrup.
“I’m rude, am I?”
“That’s what Shindong and Donghae say,” Yesung confirmed between bites of breakfast. “You won’t cook or clean for them.”
“I am not the maid,” Ryeowook said, shaking his head. “I am not even going to start spoiling them like I did you guys.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” Sungmin agreed as he took a big drink of milk. “They are big boys; they can take care of themselves.”
“Are you two like MinWook perfect friends again?” Yesung pausing his fork halfway to his mouth and asked in dread.
“Yes,” Sungmin and Ryeowook both answered at the same time smiling at each other.
“Oh, that’s just wonderful,” Yesung said rolling his eyes as he stuck a fork full of food into his mouth.
“I didn’t know you two were fighting, but I’m glad you have made up,” Zhou Mi said brightly to his two friends.
“How little you know,” Kyuhyun said, shaking his head at the man’s lack of understanding.
“So true,” Eunhyuk said, agreeing with Kyuhyun.
“Just a little disagreement, not a real fight, but thanks for caring. I am glad I have at least one thoughtful person living in this dorm with me,” Sungmin told Zhou Mi, sticking his tongue out at Eunhyuk, Yesung and Kyuhyun.
“Well, he’s never had to suffer under your combined rule,” Kyuhyun pointed out to them, as he took a big bite of pancakes.
“You are going to think suffer,” Sungmin told him in a threatening tone, which Kyuhyun totally ignored.
“So, when do you two leave for Shanghai?” Zhou Mi asked Sungmin and Ryeowook, changing the subject.
“Later today - I wish you were going,” Ryeowook answered him, suddenly looking down at the thought of going to Shanghai.
“I can’t. I have filming,” Zhou Mi answered with a sad frown.
“It’s so weird going to China without Hangeng,” Ryeowook pointed out, and all of them at the table shook their head in agreement, except for Kyuhyun, who wasn’t looking happy at all.
“Why are you two going to Shanghai?” Kyuhyun demanded to know, his plate suddenly forgotten.
“The fan meet, duh,” Sungmin told him.
“You are going without me?” Kyuhyun asked, shocked, while looking only at Ryeowook.
“Yeah,” Ryeowook confirmed for him, as he watched Kyuhyun push his plate away that only had half of its food gone.
“You can’t fly in a plane,” Eunhyuk pointed out, eyes darting back and forth between Ryeowook and Kyuhyun, as he sensed danger ahead.
“You were supposed to go, remember?” Sungmin reminded him as he reached over and scooted Kyuhyun’s plate back in front of him. “You better eat.”
Kyuhyun looked at Sungmin and asked annoyed, “Why didn’t they cancel it? No offence, but you’re not exactly the most popular two.”
“Offense taken, you asshole,” Sungmin said, glaring at Kyuhyun, along with everybody else at the table.
“Sorry if the truth hurts, but it’s stupid. They should have just waited for me to get better,” Kyuhyun insisted, too absorbed with his own selfish needs to realize the danger he was in. Kyuhyun turned all his focus back to Ryeowook. “How long are you going to be gone? I don’t want you to be - ” He stopped suddenly when he saw something dangerous flash in Ryeowook’s eyes.
“Kyuhyun, sometimes - ” Ryeowook told the younger man is a voice that was a combination of anger and disappointment. “Sometimes you go too far.”
“I just meant - ” Kyuhyun tried to explain quickly, realizing how it must have sounded.
“I know exactly what you meant,” Ryeowook said standing up, “and it doesn’t excuse it any.”
“Where are you going?” Kyuhyun asked as Ryeowook got up from the table, leaving his food uneaten.
“Back to my dorm. It’s where I should have been making breakfast to begin with,” Ryeowook told him, not slowing down for Kyuhyun as he reached out a hand for him as Ryeowook stormed past him.
“I’m going with you,” Sungmin said, getting up from the table, but he stopped before walking off to give Kyuhyun a look full of disdain. “Be sure to not finish your breakfast or take your medicine. If we are lucky, maybe you will miss all the concerts, too.”
“Jerk,” Eunhyuk told Kyuhyun, just shaking his head in disbelief.
“I second that,” Yesung couldn’t help but agree.
“I third it,” Zhou Mi agreed.
***********************
“I’m really sorry,” Kyuhyun told Ryeowook’s voicemail for the tenth time that day, and that wasn’t counting the night before. He had also left Sungmin a few messages pleading for his forgiveness, so as not to look too obvious where his bias lay. He had texted Ryeowook more times than he would admit and had gotten nothing back in response.
“Ah, so you can say it,” Zhou Mi said, walking into the room Kyuhyun shared with Sungmin. He sat on Sungmin’s bed, giving the other man a gentle smile.
Kyuhyun, who had been sitting at his computer, turned around to look at the other man and asked, “I can say what?”
“That you’re sorry.” Zhou Mi answered as he grabbed a book that Sungmin had left laying on his bed.
“Oh, that. I think I owe you one, too. Sorry,” Kyuhyun apologized, and to his credit, he was sincere.
“I accept. No harm done,” Zhou Mi told him, smiling, letting the younger man know that it wasn’t anything to worry about.
“Really?” Kyuhyun let out a sigh of relief at being forgiven by at least one person he cared about. “Was she mad?”
“Well, she wasn’t happy,” Zhou Mi told him honestly, “and she is still in town if ever you change your mind. I am not pressuring; I’m just saying.”
“Okay, I’ll remember that. I’m hungry. You want to go get something to eat?” Kyuhyun had been eating constantly since yesterday. Sungmin’s parting words had hit the mark.
“As long as it’s not Mexican, I’m cool,” Zhou Mi replied, and they both laughed. “Should we call Donghae and ask him if he wants to go?” Zhou Mi added as he pulled out his phone.
Kyuhyun’s eyes were glued to Zhou Mi’s phone with yearning. “Why don’t you go up and just ask Donghae instead of calling; you know give it that personal touch.”
“Okay, sure,” Zhou Mi said, smiling, as he watched Kyuhyun watch his phone as he jostled it from one hand to the next. “I will call Siwon and see if he wants to meet us, too.”
“He’s at Bible Study,” Kyuhyun informed him, never taking his eyes off his phone.
“Oh, well, maybe he can meet us afterwards. I will go ask Donghae, then,” Zhou Mi said, getting up from the bed and starting for the door.
“Can I borrow your phone?” Kyuhyun asked quickly before Zhou Mi made it to the door. “While you’re asking Donghae if he wants to come with us.” Kyuhyun added innocently, but his eagerness to get the phone was obvious.
Zhou Mi grinned and handed him the phone, “You are always getting me in trouble.”
“If anybody asks, I totally stole it,” Kyuhyun told him smiling, so glad that there wasn’t any tension between them.
“Okay, deal,” Zhou Mi told him as he walked out of the room to go find Donghae.
Zhou Mi was barely out of the room before Kyuhyun had the phone up to his ear, waiting for Ryeowook to answer. Ryeowook didn’t take long to answer the phone. “I’m very sorry. Really sorry, but you know better than to take me seriously. You shouldn’t be mad at me, because I only want to be with you - ”
Kyuhyun stopped his pleading and frowned as Ryeowook hung up on him. Kyuhyun went to hit redial, but was stopped when Eunhyuk walked into the room, giving him a very disapproving look and grabbed the phone away from him.
Eunhyuk had gone out soon after breakfast yesterday and hadn’t returned till the early morning hours, so Kyuhyun hadn’t seen him. Ryeowook had refused to talk to him, so Kyuhyun had no clue what the two of them had discussed and why they both had been crying. “I really need to make that phone call. If Ryeowook will not listen to my apology, maybe Sungmin will?”
Eunhyuk had gone back to shut the door and also locked it. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” Kyuhyun said, acting ignorant.
Eunhyuk took a seat on Kyuhyun’s bed, facing him. “About how I am the new rule enforcer.”
“Rule enforcer?” Kyuhyun’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped open.
“Ryeowook and I had a very good talk yesterday, and he’s actually really happy that I have agreed to help you two out,” Eunhyuk told him, trying his best to put on his brightest smile.
“Then why were you both crying?” Kyuhyun asked skeptically.
“Because we both know how bad this could be if we allow it to go any further. Ryeowook is mush in your hands, so I am going to be his backup from now on…….so you don’t do anything that ends up hurting us all.”
“So Ryeowook blamed me for everything, then? Whatever!” Kyuhyun sneered and turned away from the man.
“No, he didn’t. I just kinda got the impression that Ryeowook has a greater fear of the circumstances than you do.”
“I have fear. I have plenty of fear. It’s just that I won’t hide in my room avoiding him anymore. We tried that for a couple days, and that isn’t going to work for me,” Kyuhyun said, turning around to face Eunhyuk again. He sat up in his chair straighter and glared at the other man. He had always been so bad at being submissive, even to his elders.
“Good, because you shouldn’t have to ignore each other. I think you should go back to being the wonderful friends you were before. That’s why I am here to help,” Eunhyuk said, trying his best to lighten the atmosphere.
“Don’t give me that fake smile. I know the thought of Ryeowook and me together totally disgusts you. Are you sure you are helping us or policing us?” Kyuhyun asked bluntly, refusing to be anything but difficult.
Eunhyuk rubbed his eyes and sighed. “I know I went about this the wrong way - ”
“You mean when you tortured us with all your little remarks? I know you bribed Yesung to let Zhou Mi room with him.” Kyuhyun smiled at the look of surprise on Eunhyuk’s face, letting him know he had guessed right.
“How did you know? Okay, I admit to doing that, but it was for the best. I don’t think Ryeowook would have let you room with him anyways, though, because he isn’t stupid,” Eunhyuk pointed out to the younger man, keeping his calm.
“Oh, so you’re calling me stupid now?” Kyuhyun replied, being as irritating as he could possibly manage.
“I walked in here, and you are pleading with Ryeowook to forgive you…that you only want to be with him? I mean really, Kyuhyun!” Eunhyuk said, holding his hands out in frustration.
“I do want to be with him. I am always with him…SJ-M, KRY…I am always with him. That’s all I meant. I wanted to be with him at the fan meeting, too,” Kyuhyun said, somehow managing to keep the sour look in his face.
“That’s such bull, and you know it,” Eunhyuk said, shaking his head in disbelief. “You are totally playing the role of the scolded girlfriend that is trying to make up with her boyfriend.”
“I am not the girlfriend!” Kyuhyun said completely shocked, as he stood up, totally outraged at the thought.
“Really? I don’t see Ryeowook calling you every five minutes, leaving voicemails telling you he isn’t mad. Kyuhyun, you have texted him eighty-seven times since he left!” Eunhyuk said, totally appalled at the indignant maknae.
“Eight…Eighty seven times? How do you know…….he called you?” Kyuhyun said, sitting down on Sungmin’s bed, his attitude finally changing for the better.
Eunhyuk turned to face the other man and told him, “No, it’s just a random guess - of course he called me!” Eunhyuk eyes softened as he watched the younger man who now looked disgusted with himself.
“I’m not the girlfriend, and I’m not the boyfriend either…….but I am pathetic,” Kyuhyun told the other man sadly as he grabbed Sungmin’s pillow and hugged it.
“That you are, and it’s not a good look for you,” Eunhyuk told the other man, not indulging him. “You are supposed to be rotten, sneaky, and clever - not love sick.”
“I know, right?” Kyuhyun couldn’t help but agree. “It’s just that I shouldn’t have said what I said. If you didn’t know that I was a tiny bit clingy and hated to be away from him….it might have sounded a little snobby and rude.”
“We all know you are a lot clingy when it comes to him, and it still sounded snobby and rude. Sungmin didn’t need to hear that either,” Eunhyuk told Kyuhyun disappointedly.
“I know. The black smile will be in full force now, but I have tried to call and apologize to him, too. Sungmin knows I’m stupid,” Kyuhyun said guiltily, as he hugged Sungmin’s pillow extra hard. “I just - ” Kyuhyun was interrupted by a knocking on the door.
“Let’s go eat. Why is this door locked? Are you watching porn?” Donghae asked through the door.
“Only what I stole from you,” Kyuhyun said as he got up and opened the door to find Zhou Mi and Donghae waiting outside of it.
“I called Siwon; he told me to call when we decided on a place, and he’d skip out early to meet us,” Donghae said as he pushed through the door to see what Kyuhyun had actually been doing.
“Siwon is going to take time out from his heavenly gathering to eat with us mere mortals? I feel more enlightened already,” Kyuhyun said as he grabbed his billfold.
“He is probably coming so he can pray especially hard for you in person,” Donghae told him when he found nothing interesting in the room.
“As if,” Kyuhyun replied, but he couldn’t help but laugh.
“God knows you need it,” Eunhyuk couldn’t help but add. Then he turned to his best friend and asked, “You guys are going out to eat and didn’t invite me?”
“Yep,” Donghae told him as he gently punched him on the arm.
“You have to have a basic understanding of Chinese to hang with us,” Kyuhyun informed him, and Donghae nodded his head in agreement.
“Or think you do,” Zhou Mi said, rolling his eyes at Donghae and Kyuhyun.
“We might make an exception this once,” Donghae said, grinning at Kyuhyun.
“Especially if you are buying, Hyung,” Kyuhyun said, his voice dripping with fake sweetness.
“Oh, I would love to buy,” Eunhyuk said sarcastically. “Here’s your phone?” Eunhyuk told Zhou Mi, as he walked up to him and handed him his phone.
“I want seafood,” Donghae said as they all headed toward the door.
“Of course you do. You fishiest fish lover of all,” Kyuhyun told him as he shut the door behind them.
Author: aquariuslover
Pairing: KyuWook
Rating: R
Genre: Friendship, Love
Beta: unicornsinger
Summary: This is a completely fictional tale about the thin line between love and friendship, and how easily that line can become blurred.
TFAN Chapters
“Is everybody okay? Did somebody die?” Zhou Mi asked, full of dread and worry, as he walked into the living room, to find Eunhyuk and Ryeowook embracing on the couch, both sobbing.
“Please,” Yesung, who was beside him, said with obvious disdain. “They cry when it rains.”
“Oh,” Zhou Mi answered as the two men on the couch broke from their embrace and turned their attention toward Zhou Mi and Yesung.
“Once, we were on our show ‘Explore the Human Body’ - which I was fantastic in, by the way. We had to collect tears, and those two cry-babies provided the samples. Although come to think of it, Ryeowook didn’t cry as much as he should have. If I were Shindong, I would still be offended,” Yesung explained to Zhou Mi, ignoring the pair of glaring eyes aimed at him.
Ryeowook stood up quickly and proclaimed, “I cried.”
“You didn’t cry when Shindong said he was leaving; you only cried when the maknae started crying,” Yesung pointed out with a smirk. “Like I said, you’re lucky Shindong is so forgiving.”
“Oh, I remember this now. Kyuhyun was so convincing. He should really consider acting,” Zhou Mi replied, still standing beside Yesung as he watched Eunhyuk and Ryeowook wipe away their tears.
“Umm…he wasn’t faking. I kinda forgot to tell him it was a hidden camera,” Yesung admitted guiltily.
“You didn’t forget anything,” Eunhyuk accused, giving the other man a severe look.
“Well, how was I supposed to tell him when he was freaking attached to Ryeowook’s hip all the time? When he wasn’t with Ryeowook, he was with you. There isn’t any way I could have told him without the two of you finding out,” Yesung reminded them.
“You should have found a way. He had just got out of the hospital,” Ryeowook told him, his eyes narrowing at the memory.
“Yeah, that was just cruel,” Eunhyuk agreed with Ryeowook.
“Nobody else told him either!” Yesung said defending himself.
“Because you told them you would!” Eunhyuk pointed out to him as he walked past him to the kitchen, with Ryeowook following close behind.
Yesung gave them both annoyed looks as they left and turned back to Zhou Mi and explained, “It made for great television.”
***************************
“You gained half a kilogram. I’m so happy!” Sungmin announced as he bounced around the kitchen pulling out his phone. “It’s not too early to call your mom, is it?”
“She has a class now. She was up before you even thought about getting out of bed. You’re so retarded,” Kyuhyun said, shaking his head at the other man as he took a seat at the kitchen table.
“Excuse me, but I am going to glory in my success,” Sungmin told the younger man, refusing to be anything but happy.
“What success?” Eunhyuk asked as he walked into the room with Ryeowook. It was obvious from their red eyes that they had both been crying.
“Skinny Bones there has gained half a kilogram!” Sungmin said proudly. “What are you two crying about now?” Sungmin questioned, after giving Ryeowook and Eunhyuk a good looking over.
“I am crying because I am so happy that Ryeowook has decided to feed us again. No offense, but it just hasn’t been the same,” Eunhyuk said, taking a seat next to Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun’s concerned eyes were on Ryeowook, who just smiled at him.
“You ungrateful monkey-faced - ” Sungmin started.
“Half a kilogram; that’s great. The doctor will be thrilled, not to mention your mother,” Ryeowook said, distracting Sungmin as he stepped around him to the front of the stove to start making the pancakes. Kyuhyun moved to get up and follow Ryeowook, so he could interrogate him, but Eunhyuk subtly grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back down to his seat.
“And all thanks to me,” Sungmin said, basking in his accomplishment and forgetting Eunhyuk’s insult, just as Ryeowook had planned. Sungmin was all smiles as he placed the milk, syrup, and butter on the table.
“You mean thanks to my mother,” Kyuhyun said, emphasizing the word mother as he settled back down in his chair. “She fed me all day yesterday.”
“I am going to take some credit, too, since you ate more of my dinner than I did last night,” Ryeowook said without turning away from the stove. “Just think how much you could have gained if you hadn’t gotten sick?”
“It’s a cumulative effect of many days work,” Sungmin insisted. He stopped suddenly and turned to Kyuhyun. “You were sick?”
“Yes, I was, and you wouldn’t let me get any sleep,” Kyuhyun told Sungmin with eyes full of blame.
“So it’s your fault he ended up in bed with me, then?” Yesung said as he walked into the room with Zhou Mi; they took the seats opposite Eunhyuk and Kyuhyun.
“Believe me, I won’t be doing it again without a gas mask,” Kyuhyun told Yesung as he held his nose.
“I would apologize, but since you snuck in my bed without my permission, I won’t.”
“It was awful. I was sound asleep, and the smell woke me. I mean, the smell woke me? Do you know how foul something has to smell…for the smell to wake you up?” Kyuhyun embellished for everybody, rubbing his nose at the awful memory.
“It was bad,” Zhou Mi couldn’t help but agree. “What did you eat last night?”
“I ate at that new Mexican restaurant down the street. It was actually really good,” Yesung explained as he poured him a glass of milk that Sungmin had set on the table earlier.
“It was like things had crawled up you and died,” Kyuhyun told him, making a mental note that he was never ever going to eat at that restaurant.
“They were actually cheese enchiladas, and they were divine,” Yesung said, smiling at the memory of the good food. “If they keep you out of my room, then I will have more today.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Kyuhyun told him with his usual sneer.
“That’s what you always say, but it seems like I am always waking up with a certain tall, gawky maknae in my room. I thought it was Ryeowook and his misplaced nurturing that kept you coming back, but Ryeowook is gone, and you still invade my territory. It must have been me all along. I’m used to having fans, but, Kyuhyun, this is a little much,” Yesung said, smiling at the dumbfounded younger man.
“Oh, you guessed it. You are my hero. Someday, when I am old like you, I hope I can be half as self-involved,” Kyuhyun shot back at him.
“Old!” Yesung said outraged as he stood up.
“Oh, sit your butt back down,” Sungmin said as he came to the table, passing out rice. Then, he took a seat next to Yesung.
“Old,” Yesung repeated, sitting back down.
“Well, definitely older,” Kyuhyun said evilly as he ate a spoonful of rice.
“I look younger than you,” Yesung told him hotly.
“Keep telling yourself that,” Kyuhyun told him, just smiling back at him annoyingly.
“How I have missed breakfast with you two,” Ryeowook said, laughing as he placed the pancakes on the table. The pancakes disappeared from the platter quickly, as all the boys grabbed a plate full.
“Well, you chose to live with the boring people,” Kyuhyun told Ryeowook, looking bothered as Ryeowook sat at the end of the table far away from him.
“True, not everybody can be as entertaining as we are,” Yesung told Ryeowook with a mouth full of food.
“They probably want you to move back with us anyways. They complain all the time about how rude you are,” Kyuhyun told Ryeowook as he soaked his pancakes in syrup.
“I’m rude, am I?”
“That’s what Shindong and Donghae say,” Yesung confirmed between bites of breakfast. “You won’t cook or clean for them.”
“I am not the maid,” Ryeowook said, shaking his head. “I am not even going to start spoiling them like I did you guys.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” Sungmin agreed as he took a big drink of milk. “They are big boys; they can take care of themselves.”
“Are you two like MinWook perfect friends again?” Yesung pausing his fork halfway to his mouth and asked in dread.
“Yes,” Sungmin and Ryeowook both answered at the same time smiling at each other.
“Oh, that’s just wonderful,” Yesung said rolling his eyes as he stuck a fork full of food into his mouth.
“I didn’t know you two were fighting, but I’m glad you have made up,” Zhou Mi said brightly to his two friends.
“How little you know,” Kyuhyun said, shaking his head at the man’s lack of understanding.
“So true,” Eunhyuk said, agreeing with Kyuhyun.
“Just a little disagreement, not a real fight, but thanks for caring. I am glad I have at least one thoughtful person living in this dorm with me,” Sungmin told Zhou Mi, sticking his tongue out at Eunhyuk, Yesung and Kyuhyun.
“Well, he’s never had to suffer under your combined rule,” Kyuhyun pointed out to them, as he took a big bite of pancakes.
“You are going to think suffer,” Sungmin told him in a threatening tone, which Kyuhyun totally ignored.
“So, when do you two leave for Shanghai?” Zhou Mi asked Sungmin and Ryeowook, changing the subject.
“Later today - I wish you were going,” Ryeowook answered him, suddenly looking down at the thought of going to Shanghai.
“I can’t. I have filming,” Zhou Mi answered with a sad frown.
“It’s so weird going to China without Hangeng,” Ryeowook pointed out, and all of them at the table shook their head in agreement, except for Kyuhyun, who wasn’t looking happy at all.
“Why are you two going to Shanghai?” Kyuhyun demanded to know, his plate suddenly forgotten.
“The fan meet, duh,” Sungmin told him.
“You are going without me?” Kyuhyun asked, shocked, while looking only at Ryeowook.
“Yeah,” Ryeowook confirmed for him, as he watched Kyuhyun push his plate away that only had half of its food gone.
“You can’t fly in a plane,” Eunhyuk pointed out, eyes darting back and forth between Ryeowook and Kyuhyun, as he sensed danger ahead.
“You were supposed to go, remember?” Sungmin reminded him as he reached over and scooted Kyuhyun’s plate back in front of him. “You better eat.”
Kyuhyun looked at Sungmin and asked annoyed, “Why didn’t they cancel it? No offence, but you’re not exactly the most popular two.”
“Offense taken, you asshole,” Sungmin said, glaring at Kyuhyun, along with everybody else at the table.
“Sorry if the truth hurts, but it’s stupid. They should have just waited for me to get better,” Kyuhyun insisted, too absorbed with his own selfish needs to realize the danger he was in. Kyuhyun turned all his focus back to Ryeowook. “How long are you going to be gone? I don’t want you to be - ” He stopped suddenly when he saw something dangerous flash in Ryeowook’s eyes.
“Kyuhyun, sometimes - ” Ryeowook told the younger man is a voice that was a combination of anger and disappointment. “Sometimes you go too far.”
“I just meant - ” Kyuhyun tried to explain quickly, realizing how it must have sounded.
“I know exactly what you meant,” Ryeowook said standing up, “and it doesn’t excuse it any.”
“Where are you going?” Kyuhyun asked as Ryeowook got up from the table, leaving his food uneaten.
“Back to my dorm. It’s where I should have been making breakfast to begin with,” Ryeowook told him, not slowing down for Kyuhyun as he reached out a hand for him as Ryeowook stormed past him.
“I’m going with you,” Sungmin said, getting up from the table, but he stopped before walking off to give Kyuhyun a look full of disdain. “Be sure to not finish your breakfast or take your medicine. If we are lucky, maybe you will miss all the concerts, too.”
“Jerk,” Eunhyuk told Kyuhyun, just shaking his head in disbelief.
“I second that,” Yesung couldn’t help but agree.
“I third it,” Zhou Mi agreed.
***********************
“I’m really sorry,” Kyuhyun told Ryeowook’s voicemail for the tenth time that day, and that wasn’t counting the night before. He had also left Sungmin a few messages pleading for his forgiveness, so as not to look too obvious where his bias lay. He had texted Ryeowook more times than he would admit and had gotten nothing back in response.
“Ah, so you can say it,” Zhou Mi said, walking into the room Kyuhyun shared with Sungmin. He sat on Sungmin’s bed, giving the other man a gentle smile.
Kyuhyun, who had been sitting at his computer, turned around to look at the other man and asked, “I can say what?”
“That you’re sorry.” Zhou Mi answered as he grabbed a book that Sungmin had left laying on his bed.
“Oh, that. I think I owe you one, too. Sorry,” Kyuhyun apologized, and to his credit, he was sincere.
“I accept. No harm done,” Zhou Mi told him, smiling, letting the younger man know that it wasn’t anything to worry about.
“Really?” Kyuhyun let out a sigh of relief at being forgiven by at least one person he cared about. “Was she mad?”
“Well, she wasn’t happy,” Zhou Mi told him honestly, “and she is still in town if ever you change your mind. I am not pressuring; I’m just saying.”
“Okay, I’ll remember that. I’m hungry. You want to go get something to eat?” Kyuhyun had been eating constantly since yesterday. Sungmin’s parting words had hit the mark.
“As long as it’s not Mexican, I’m cool,” Zhou Mi replied, and they both laughed. “Should we call Donghae and ask him if he wants to go?” Zhou Mi added as he pulled out his phone.
Kyuhyun’s eyes were glued to Zhou Mi’s phone with yearning. “Why don’t you go up and just ask Donghae instead of calling; you know give it that personal touch.”
“Okay, sure,” Zhou Mi said, smiling, as he watched Kyuhyun watch his phone as he jostled it from one hand to the next. “I will call Siwon and see if he wants to meet us, too.”
“He’s at Bible Study,” Kyuhyun informed him, never taking his eyes off his phone.
“Oh, well, maybe he can meet us afterwards. I will go ask Donghae, then,” Zhou Mi said, getting up from the bed and starting for the door.
“Can I borrow your phone?” Kyuhyun asked quickly before Zhou Mi made it to the door. “While you’re asking Donghae if he wants to come with us.” Kyuhyun added innocently, but his eagerness to get the phone was obvious.
Zhou Mi grinned and handed him the phone, “You are always getting me in trouble.”
“If anybody asks, I totally stole it,” Kyuhyun told him smiling, so glad that there wasn’t any tension between them.
“Okay, deal,” Zhou Mi told him as he walked out of the room to go find Donghae.
Zhou Mi was barely out of the room before Kyuhyun had the phone up to his ear, waiting for Ryeowook to answer. Ryeowook didn’t take long to answer the phone. “I’m very sorry. Really sorry, but you know better than to take me seriously. You shouldn’t be mad at me, because I only want to be with you - ”
Kyuhyun stopped his pleading and frowned as Ryeowook hung up on him. Kyuhyun went to hit redial, but was stopped when Eunhyuk walked into the room, giving him a very disapproving look and grabbed the phone away from him.
Eunhyuk had gone out soon after breakfast yesterday and hadn’t returned till the early morning hours, so Kyuhyun hadn’t seen him. Ryeowook had refused to talk to him, so Kyuhyun had no clue what the two of them had discussed and why they both had been crying. “I really need to make that phone call. If Ryeowook will not listen to my apology, maybe Sungmin will?”
Eunhyuk had gone back to shut the door and also locked it. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” Kyuhyun said, acting ignorant.
Eunhyuk took a seat on Kyuhyun’s bed, facing him. “About how I am the new rule enforcer.”
“Rule enforcer?” Kyuhyun’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped open.
“Ryeowook and I had a very good talk yesterday, and he’s actually really happy that I have agreed to help you two out,” Eunhyuk told him, trying his best to put on his brightest smile.
“Then why were you both crying?” Kyuhyun asked skeptically.
“Because we both know how bad this could be if we allow it to go any further. Ryeowook is mush in your hands, so I am going to be his backup from now on…….so you don’t do anything that ends up hurting us all.”
“So Ryeowook blamed me for everything, then? Whatever!” Kyuhyun sneered and turned away from the man.
“No, he didn’t. I just kinda got the impression that Ryeowook has a greater fear of the circumstances than you do.”
“I have fear. I have plenty of fear. It’s just that I won’t hide in my room avoiding him anymore. We tried that for a couple days, and that isn’t going to work for me,” Kyuhyun said, turning around to face Eunhyuk again. He sat up in his chair straighter and glared at the other man. He had always been so bad at being submissive, even to his elders.
“Good, because you shouldn’t have to ignore each other. I think you should go back to being the wonderful friends you were before. That’s why I am here to help,” Eunhyuk said, trying his best to lighten the atmosphere.
“Don’t give me that fake smile. I know the thought of Ryeowook and me together totally disgusts you. Are you sure you are helping us or policing us?” Kyuhyun asked bluntly, refusing to be anything but difficult.
Eunhyuk rubbed his eyes and sighed. “I know I went about this the wrong way - ”
“You mean when you tortured us with all your little remarks? I know you bribed Yesung to let Zhou Mi room with him.” Kyuhyun smiled at the look of surprise on Eunhyuk’s face, letting him know he had guessed right.
“How did you know? Okay, I admit to doing that, but it was for the best. I don’t think Ryeowook would have let you room with him anyways, though, because he isn’t stupid,” Eunhyuk pointed out to the younger man, keeping his calm.
“Oh, so you’re calling me stupid now?” Kyuhyun replied, being as irritating as he could possibly manage.
“I walked in here, and you are pleading with Ryeowook to forgive you…that you only want to be with him? I mean really, Kyuhyun!” Eunhyuk said, holding his hands out in frustration.
“I do want to be with him. I am always with him…SJ-M, KRY…I am always with him. That’s all I meant. I wanted to be with him at the fan meeting, too,” Kyuhyun said, somehow managing to keep the sour look in his face.
“That’s such bull, and you know it,” Eunhyuk said, shaking his head in disbelief. “You are totally playing the role of the scolded girlfriend that is trying to make up with her boyfriend.”
“I am not the girlfriend!” Kyuhyun said completely shocked, as he stood up, totally outraged at the thought.
“Really? I don’t see Ryeowook calling you every five minutes, leaving voicemails telling you he isn’t mad. Kyuhyun, you have texted him eighty-seven times since he left!” Eunhyuk said, totally appalled at the indignant maknae.
“Eight…Eighty seven times? How do you know…….he called you?” Kyuhyun said, sitting down on Sungmin’s bed, his attitude finally changing for the better.
Eunhyuk turned to face the other man and told him, “No, it’s just a random guess - of course he called me!” Eunhyuk eyes softened as he watched the younger man who now looked disgusted with himself.
“I’m not the girlfriend, and I’m not the boyfriend either…….but I am pathetic,” Kyuhyun told the other man sadly as he grabbed Sungmin’s pillow and hugged it.
“That you are, and it’s not a good look for you,” Eunhyuk told the other man, not indulging him. “You are supposed to be rotten, sneaky, and clever - not love sick.”
“I know, right?” Kyuhyun couldn’t help but agree. “It’s just that I shouldn’t have said what I said. If you didn’t know that I was a tiny bit clingy and hated to be away from him….it might have sounded a little snobby and rude.”
“We all know you are a lot clingy when it comes to him, and it still sounded snobby and rude. Sungmin didn’t need to hear that either,” Eunhyuk told Kyuhyun disappointedly.
“I know. The black smile will be in full force now, but I have tried to call and apologize to him, too. Sungmin knows I’m stupid,” Kyuhyun said guiltily, as he hugged Sungmin’s pillow extra hard. “I just - ” Kyuhyun was interrupted by a knocking on the door.
“Let’s go eat. Why is this door locked? Are you watching porn?” Donghae asked through the door.
“Only what I stole from you,” Kyuhyun said as he got up and opened the door to find Zhou Mi and Donghae waiting outside of it.
“I called Siwon; he told me to call when we decided on a place, and he’d skip out early to meet us,” Donghae said as he pushed through the door to see what Kyuhyun had actually been doing.
“Siwon is going to take time out from his heavenly gathering to eat with us mere mortals? I feel more enlightened already,” Kyuhyun said as he grabbed his billfold.
“He is probably coming so he can pray especially hard for you in person,” Donghae told him when he found nothing interesting in the room.
“As if,” Kyuhyun replied, but he couldn’t help but laugh.
“God knows you need it,” Eunhyuk couldn’t help but add. Then he turned to his best friend and asked, “You guys are going out to eat and didn’t invite me?”
“Yep,” Donghae told him as he gently punched him on the arm.
“You have to have a basic understanding of Chinese to hang with us,” Kyuhyun informed him, and Donghae nodded his head in agreement.
“Or think you do,” Zhou Mi said, rolling his eyes at Donghae and Kyuhyun.
“We might make an exception this once,” Donghae said, grinning at Kyuhyun.
“Especially if you are buying, Hyung,” Kyuhyun said, his voice dripping with fake sweetness.
“Oh, I would love to buy,” Eunhyuk said sarcastically. “Here’s your phone?” Eunhyuk told Zhou Mi, as he walked up to him and handed him his phone.
“I want seafood,” Donghae said as they all headed toward the door.
“Of course you do. You fishiest fish lover of all,” Kyuhyun told him as he shut the door behind them.